Brandy Twist and her two young sons settle down on the couch and she starts to read Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.
Nothing unusual there. After all, the book is a children’s rhyming classic.
But Twist, 29, was never a good reader. In fact, she had never read a full book until recently.
“I finished Grade 10 but got married young and had two kids, and reading just wasn’t something I did,” said Twist.
“I’m from Missouri but moved to Kelowna as a single mom, so I need to finish high school to get a good job and inspire the boys to love reading too.”
Her sons, Michael, 7, and Hunter, 4, are totally on board.
“Both of them love to be read to and Michael loves to read too,” she said. “I help him every night with his homework, and we do online stuff where a book is read to you and then you read it yourself and then do a quiz to check you comprehend.”
Twist has arrived at this point with the of Project Literacy Central Okanagan Society. She works three days a week at a horse barn and receives One-to-One tutoring at Project Literacy two days a week. And she reads every day, setting a good example for her boys.
“I’d say I’m getting to be a moderate reader, now — about Grade 7 level. I have trouble with difficult words but I’m learning every day.”
Twist is also taking Grade 11 courses in her quest to get a high-school diploma.
“Brandy really is making a wonderful transformation,” said Project Literacy Education Coordinator, Bonnie Girouard, “she’s finding joy in reading and she’s sharing that with her kids.”
Project Literacy primarily helps adults learn to read and improve literacy and numeracy skills so they can get a high-school diploma, find a job, upgrade their current job or simply feel more confident.
“The key is regular practice, making time for reading and enjoying it,” said Girouard, “if people find reading a chore, they will let it slip.”
Twist’s story is poignant, especially with Family Literacy Day coming up on Tuesday.
ABCLifeLiteracy.ca started in 1999 to promote reading and writing for the whole family. The premise of the campaign is to let people know that just 15 minutes a day is a great start to boosting literacy.
Some of the exercises suggested include:
- a wake-up story, instead of or in addition to a bedtime story
- searching online together to play family outings
- telling knock-knock jokes while doing chores
- writing a story with family members each writing sentences
- writing reviews of books read and
- copying recipes
Prospera Credit Union, which has branches in Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton, is supporting Family Literacy Day and also promoting its own HumanomicsCU.ca website, which has activities families can do together to build their financial literacy.